Corsicana field provides good contest for Kilgore
HIGH SCHOOL TENNIS
By MITCH LUCAS sports@kilgorenewsherald.com

The spring tennis schedule continues for the Kilgore High School tennis team, who played in a tournament in Corsicana over the weekend.

Half of Kilgore's varsity placed in the top 10, coach Jason Maroney said, in a team that included some good competition: Lindale, Texas High, Wichita Falls Old High, Waco Midway, Tyler Lee, Arlington Martin, Copperas Cove, Ennis, Forney, Irving MacArthur, Midlothian, host-team Corsicana, Flower Mound, and Van.

"In this tournament," Maroney explained, "all the players got to play four matches, because they played out every place, first through 16th. This was probably my favorite tournament of the year so far. All of the matches were competitive, and you didn't see many lopsided scores, because there wasn't really a weak team playing in the tournament.

"This type of tournament will benefit us greatly as we work toward improving before the district (12-4A) tournament."

That district tournament Maroney mentioned is way down the line: April 8-9 at Jacksonville High School. The Bulldogs have several tournaments between now and the district tourney, including one this weekend at Tyler Lee. Kilgore hasn't been home yet this spring, and will play on their own courts in a tournament that be- gins March 14. Kilgore won the district title in the fall season.

In Corsicana, several KHS players placed in the top 10. In boys A singles, Josh Way finished in 10th place. He lost to Aaron Gendron of Flower Mound, 8-2; beat Vincent Jaramillo of MacArthur, 8-6; beat Waco Midway's Jake Waltrip, 8-3; and lost to Lindale's Kendall Beggs in the consolation final.

Haley Smith finished fifth overall in girls A singles. She beat Kasey Morrison of Kaufman, 8-5; lost to Copperas Cove's Malika Bembridge, 6-4, 6-2; beat Ambree Corrington of Corsicana, 9-7; and beat Wichita Falls' Elizabeth Wiek by that same score.

In girls B singles, Kilgore's Emily Spence finished third overall. She won her first two matches, beating Van's Linda Lay, 8-1, and Texas High's Jenni Markham, 7-6, 7-6, before falling to Flower Mound's Cassie Shaw, 6-0, 6-4. She then beat Heather Pergande of Copperas Cove, 8-6, to close out her tournament.

In mixed doubles' A division, Kilgore's Callie Cunyus and Trevar Compton finished sixth. They beat the Texas High team of Harrell and Solomon, 8-1; lost to Summers and Knight of Belton, 7-5, 7-6; beat the Arlington Martin team of Trammell and Olson, 8-4; and lost to Barron and Foster of Forney, 8-7.

Eric Applegate and Shelby Duncan finished seventh in mixed doubles B. They had a first-round bye before losing to Almli and Cranfill of Copperas Cove, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, and lost to the Wichita Falls team of Do and Thacker, 8-4. They rounded out the day with a win over Midlothian's Yeager and Nigo duo, 8-3.

The Bulldogs' junior varsity team hosts a JV tournament here on Thursday, and visits Jacksonville next Thursday. In addition, the Maude Laird Middle School (MLMS) tennis team was to be home today against Moore Middle School at 3:30 p.m. The MLMS team is coached by Dana Sneed.